ST. PAUL, Minn. – Junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) hit a three-pointer with under a second left in regulation to tie the game, then scored nine points in overtime, as the Macalester College men's basketball team came back to beat St. Olaf, 84-75 Wednesday night in the Leonard Center. The MIAC victory clinches a playoff berth for the Scots, who are now 15-7 overall and 11-6 in the conference. The Oles drop to 12-11, 8-10 MIAC.

St. Olaf led by as many as four points in the final five minutes of the game and held a 70-67 advantage with seven seconds left in the second half. Williams, who scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer in a victory over Saint Mary's on Jan. 18, drove the length of the court down the right side and hit a fadeaway three-pointer in the corner with 0.7 seconds left. A desperation shot by the Oles fell just short, and the game headed to overtime.

After the teams traded baskets to start the extra session, a layup by sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) and two baskets by Williams sandwiched around a three from sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) put Macalester on top, 81-72 with 1:27 remaining. St. Olaf missed four shots and Williams had a steal during the run, as the Scots closed out the victory.

Things started well for Macalester, as the Scots opened the game with a 13-4 run. St. Olaf came to within two points before baskets by junior guard Tom Andreae (Newton, Mass./Newton North) and first year forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier), and a three by Gold pushed the lead back up to nine, 22-13 with under eight minutes left in the half. Macalester still led by seven, 37-30 when a layup by Connor Martin in the final minute of the half made the halftime score 37-32.

In the second half, St. Olaf quickly tied the score and eventually took its first lead of the game by opening the half with an 11-4 run to lead 43-41. The lead grew to four, 49-45 when three consecutive baskets from Ba sparked an 8-0 run to put the Scots back on top, 53-49 midway through the half. The lead changed hands five times over the next five minutes, with Martin and Charlie Haff making three-pointers to give the Oles a 64-60 advantage with 4:50 remaining. Macalester pulled to within one, 66-65 following a layup by Ba with two minutes left, but Haff scored for St. Olaf for a 68-65 edge.

The Scots began fouling to get to the bonus, and the Oles missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 16 seconds left to give the ball back to Macalester. Williams was fouled and made both free throws, then St. Olaf's Kobe Kirk made both of his free throws after being fouled to make the score 70-67, setting up Williams' heroics.

Williams finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead Macalester. Gold scored 19 points and grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds. Ba also had 13 boards and three blocks to go with a career-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Andreae made it four Scots in double-figures with 10 points and a team-best five assists. Michael Meriggioli scored 21 points to lead St. Olaf.

Macalester will host Carleton on Saturday, Feb. 11 in a match-up of the top two teams in the MIAC standings. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center. The Scots will honor their seniors as a part of Senior Day before the game.